Top Shelf: Handing out the first-half NHL Awards

Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - With the majority of NHL teams already past their midway points of the 2014-15 season, it's time to take a closer look at the players who have stood out among their peers.

Although the league won't hand out its individual awards until the summer,
debates about who deserves the trophies begin shortly after the season begins.

Sometimes guys run away with an award and distance themselves from the rest
of the field, but the 2014-15 races appear to be extremely competitive at the
moment.

So, without further ado, let's take a look at who's on their way to winning
some of the most coveted hardware this spring.

HART TROPHY (MOST VALUABLE PLAYER)

Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins

The problem with the Hart Trophy race is some of the best individual efforts
this season have come from players on teams that may not even make the
playoffs.

Philadelphia's Jakub Voracek leads the league in scoring and his teammate
Claude Giroux isn't far behind, but the Flyers are struggling as a whole and
the club's poor season will hinder both star players' MVP quests. Tyler Seguin
of the Dallas Stars finds himself in a similar situation.

Malkin, meanwhile, is second only to Voracek in points and is leading a
Pittsburgh team in the race for the Metropolitan Division title. The Russian
star has 19 goals and 49 points in 42 games and could wind up winning his
third Art Ross Trophy as the league's leading scorer. Malkin also has a Hart
Trophy to his credit, winning the MVP for the 2011-12 season.

We also can't count out Malkin's teammate Sidney Crosby, a two-time Hart
Trophy recipient who has 47 points on 12 goals and 35 assists.

Anaheim centerman Ryan Getzlaf and Chicago winger Patrik Kane also are in the
Hart race, as is goaltender Pekka Rinne of the Nashville Predators. Of
course, it's extremely rare for a netminder to win the MVP. Jose Theodore was
the last goalie to do it when he won the Hart with the Montreal Canadiens in
2001-02.

Other finalists: Getzlaf (Anaheim), Rinne (Nashville)

NORRIS TROPHY (BEST DEFENSEMAN)

Mark Giordano, Calgary Flames

The advanced statistics community has been talking up Giordano's Norris
credentials for a few years now, but 2014-15 could be the season he actually
wins the award for top defenseman.

Giordano received one first-place vote for the Norris in 2013-14, but wound up
finishing 10th in the overall voting as Chicago's Duncan Keith won it for the
second time in his career.

The difference in 2014-15 is Giordano has the offensive numbers to bolster his
case. Last season he finished 12th in scoring among blueliners with 47 points.
He is currently second with 10 goals and 26 assists in 43 games, and his 36
points are only one behind Kevin Shattenkirk of the St. Louis Blues.

While this season has served as a coming-out party for Giordano, he hardly has
the Norris race wrapped up. Keith is likely to be in the mix again, and
Shattenkirk, Nashville's Shea Weber, Drew Doughty of the Los Angeles Kings
are a few other names worthy of mention at the midway point.

Other finalists: Weber (Nashville), Keith (Chicago)

VEZINA TROPHY (BEST GOALTENDER)

Pekka Rinne, Nashville Predators

Like Giordano for Norris, Rinne is leading the way in a stacked field for the
Vezina.

A trendy pick to win the Hart, the Finnish star has been hailed as one of the
biggest reasons for Nashville's resurgence this season. The club finished out
of the playoffs in 2013-14 and the Predators' struggles were due in large part
to Rinne missing over four months due to a infection in his surgically
repaired hip.

A healthy Rinne has helped alter Nashville's fortunes in 2014-15, with the
team currently tied with Anaheim for the most points in the NHL. Rinne, a two-
time Vezina finalist, has posted a 29-6-2 record in 37 games this season while
sporting a 1.96 goals against average and .931 save percentage.

However, an injury suffered on Tuesday night against Vancouver could wind up
derailing Rinne's award-worthy season. The 32-year-old suffered a sprained
knee in a collision with Canucks forward Chris Higgins and it will cause Rinne
to be sidelined until after the All-Star break.

Nashville fans are hoping the club is simply being careful with its franchise
goaltender, but the injury does seem to open the door for another Vezina
candidate to swipe the award.

The rest of the field is packed with worthy goaltenders like Tampa Bay's Ben
Bishop, Montreal's Carey Price, Pittsburgh's Marc-Andre Fleury and Jaroslav
Halak of the New York Islanders.

Other finalists: Halak (NY Islanders), Price (Montreal)

CALDER MEMORIAL TROPHY (ROOKIE OF THE YEAR)

Aaron Ekblad, Florida Panthers

It's not rare to see one standout rookie run away with the Calder Memorial
Trophy, but 2014-15 gives us no shortage of worthy first-year candidates.

Earlier this season, it did seem like Nashville's Filip Forsberg would skate
away with the Calder, but the gap has been closed considerably thanks to the
emergence of guys like Aaron Ekblad, Johnny Gaudreau and Michael Hutchinson.

Ekblad gets the nod for me because it is so rare to see an NHL defenseman
thrive as a rookie, let alone an 18-year-old. The No. 1 overall pick in the
2014 NHL Entry Draft, has made a seamless transition from Canadian junior
hockey to the NHL and given Florida a cornerstone defenseman to build around.

The blueliner has helped Florida, a young team which was expected to be near
the bottom of the NHL standings, stay in the race for a playoff spot this
season. Ekblad is leading all rookie defensemen with 24 points on five goals
and 19 assists and also is logging over 22 minutes of ice time per night. His
point total trails only Forsberg and Gaudreau among all rookie skaters.

But, if this is purely a scoring race, Forsberg is still the leading candidate
for the Calder. The 20-year-old Swede leads all rookies with 39 points over 42
games for Nashville, but Calgary's Gaudreau, the former Boston College
standout better known by his nickname "Johnny Hockey," has been gaining ground
on Forsberg.

Gaudreau only managed a goal and two assists through his first nine games this
season, but he currently has 32 points (13 goals, 19 assists) over 42
contests.

Hutchinson, meanwhile, is making a Calder case from the Winnipeg crease. The
Jets goaltender has formed an effective tandem with veteran Ondrej Pavelec and
the 24-year-old is 12-4-2 with a 2.00 GAA and .931 save percentage in 19
games.

There is plenty of time for any of these candidates to distinguish themselves
from the pack, but Ekblad is my front-runner.

Other finalists: Forsberg (Nashville), Gaudreau (Calgary)

ADAMS TROPHY (COACH OF THE YEAR)

Peter Laviolette, Nashville Predators

Last season, Colorado's Patrick Roy earned the coaching award in his first
season behind an NHL bench. In 2014-15, a mainstay of the coaching scene is
leading the Adams field.

Peter Laviolette reached the top of the NHL mountain by leading Carolina to a
Stanley Cup title in 2006, but the American has never won the Adams. However,
Laviolette may get his hand on the trophy this season for his stellar work in
his debut season with the Predators.

Laviolette was fired by Philadelphia after just three games in 2013-14 and was
out of coaching until Nashville came calling last spring. He had big shoes to
fill, taking over for Barry Trotz, the only head coach the franchise knew
until he was fired for missing the playoffs in two consecutive seasons.

As mentioned above, a healthy Rinne has helped Nashville rebound in 2014-15,
but Laviolette's impact cannot be forgotten, either. After all, we are in the
middle of January and the Predators still have yet to lose consecutive games.
That level of consistency is rare and has everything to do with a veteran
coach like Laviolette knowing which buttons to push and when to push them.

Laviolette was tasked with transitioning the Preds from Trotz's defense-first
style to a more up-tempo strategy and to say it has been a success would be an
enormous understatement.

Nashville has gone from an average of 2.61 goals per game in 2013-14 to 3.00
goals per game this season, and it has done so while somehow improving on
defense. The Preds were 23rd in the league in team defense (2.84 GPG) in
Trotz's last season in Music City and are currently first with only 2.17 goals
surrendered per contest.

The drastic improvement in overall play has Nashville at the top of the league
standings and well on its way to the best regular season in franchise history.

It's worth mentioning that Trotz also could get Adams consideration for
getting Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals to buy into his defensive
system. Unlike Laviolette's Predators, who have been great from Day 1 of
2014-15, Trotz's changes needed time to take root, but the Caps are playing
with great confidence at this point of the season.

Laviolette is a clear front-runner for the Adams with his stiffest competition
coming from New York Islanders bench boss Jack Capuano, who has the Isles
neck-and-neck with the Pittsburgh Penguins for the Metropolitan Division
crown.